It seems the older I get the more melancholy I become over the state of our once great nation. We have fallen so far from what the country once stood for. Even the most conservative our of founding fathers would be appalled to see how we've butchered their dream of a free and democratic society. We've willingly enslaved ourselves to a big, invasive government and somehow we seem surprised by it. We expect our local governments to fulfill our every whim and desire and if they won't do it we gladly run to daddy in D.C. to give us what we want. We fail to accept the axiom, "there's no such thing as a free lunch." The more we expect big government to provide for us the more we surrender our personal liberties. The more we invite the government into personal lives the more we allow them to legislate our behaviors. Perhaps we viewed the recent decision by the Supreme Court regarding the status of marriage as a great social victory but we failed to see the real tragedy. Once again, we the ignorant mob, have helped to make big government even bigger and one more nail has been hammered into the coffin of state's rights. I couldn't care less about who marries whom. Live and let live. I do care that once again we've surrendered our ability to govern ourselves to a collection of self-serving minions who have no business in my backyard or my heart.
I'll be honest I haven't done a study about the types of legislation instituted over the years but I'd bet even money that more and more current legislation stems from hurt feelings rather than addressing the needs of our communities. Instead of legislating over taxes, commerce, and community we are now trying to legislate morality and behavior. We've diluded ourselves into thinking that new laws will change old beliefs. Removing a flag will not change the minds of hateful people. Just because something is legal doesn't make it right. Conversely just becomes something is made illegal doesn't make it necessarily wrong. We're no longer governed by reason but by opinion. Common sense has taken a back seat to what's popular. Our moral compass is set by Fox News and People Magazine and this great ship called the United States if foundering. We conveniently use our Constitution to justify one thing but ignore it when we want to do something else. We're governed by opinion rather than reason. Today all it takes is a few misguided zealots and a less than ethical news agency to turn something insignificant into a perceived national crisis
. We allowed the actions of one sick, demented individual to turn a rather benign piece of cloth into one of the most despised images since the swastika. Displaying the old Confederate battle flag is now tantamount to a hate crime but singing songs that spew lyrics promoting racism, murder, rape and drug use is considered an exercise of our right to freedom of expression. We rage against someone for burning the American flag out of protest but we have no problem turning that same flag into a rainbow. The criteria for determining what is or isn't acceptable is determined by the changing winds of opinion.
We have turned our backs not just on morality but more importantly, responsibility. Parents today are raising monsters who are no longer accountable for their actions. Poor grades are the result of bad teaching. Poor behavior is played off as self-expression. We serve nothing but ourselves. We are accountable to no one but ourselves. There is always someone or something else to blame. It's never our fault. The world is here for us. Perhaps what John Kennedy meant to say was, "Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country can do for you."
"All men are created equal...." "endowed by their Creator..." "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Let's remember what it really means to be an American.
